Australia news live: man charged with murder after Tasmanian police officer shot dead

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Man in critical condition after being shot by police during siege in south-western Sydney

A man has been shot by police during a siege in Sydney’s south-west.

In a statement, NSW police said:

Just after 12.15pm, police were called to a caravan park on Macarthur Road at Elderslie to check on the welfare of an occupant.

Officers from Camden Police Area Command attended a cabin at the property and attempted to speak to a 52-year-old man.

A perimeter was established after the man armed himself with a knife and made threats to self-harm.

Specialist resources attended to assist, and negotiators attempted to speak to the man who refused to cooperate.

Just before 3.30pm, officers attached to the Tactical Operations Unit (TOU) gained entry to the premises and the armed man rushed at officers with the knife.

Police discharged a taser and less-than-lethal tactical rounds which were ineffective, before the man was shot.

The man was immediately treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics on scene and taken to Liverpool hospital in a critical condition.

A critical incident team from State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad will lead the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Man charged with murder after Tasmanian police officer shot dead

Tasmanian police have charged a 46-year-old man with murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault after a police officer was fatally shot in Tasmania’s north-west on Monday.

The North Motton man recently appeared in a bedside court sitting. He will reappear in court at a later date.

The man remains under guard in hospital, where he is receiving medical attention for non-life-threatening injuries.

The Tasmania police commissioner, Donna Adams, thanked those involved in the ongoing investigation for their dedication and professionalism.

I want to sincerely thank all those who have played a part in this investigation.

Their diligent work in such difficult circumstances is to be commended.

The support our members have shown for Constable Keith Smith’s family and loved ones, and each other, is testament to the strength of our blue family.

I would also like to thank community members for the outpouring of support they have shown Keith’s family and friends, and Tasmania Police more broadly.

WA state budget posts $2.5bn surplus

The second budget under Western Australian treasurer, Rita Saffioti, on Thursday delivered a $2.5bn windfall for the state for the current financial year, with a further $2.4bn surplus projected for 2025-26, AAP reports.

It’s the state’s seventh consecutive operating surplus, which Roger Cook’s government says will help the state diversify and set its economy up for the future.

Saffioti said:

This budget is being handed down at a time when the geo-political situation has been turned on its head.

We have unprecedented tariff policies coming out of the US, while the worsening conflict in the Middle East is creating significant uncertainty in global markets.”

Saffioti said the budget aimed to “fortify” WA against global shocks, invest in economic infrastructure and set the state up for a future with plenty of jobs.

The Cook government’s measures include $2.7bn to bolster economic growth and create jobs, with a focus on local manufacturing.

Marles says Australia wants to see Israel-Iran conflict ‘de-escalated’

Marles was also asked if it would be considered an escalation were the US to get involved in the conflict.

What we want is to see a de-escalation – not to see this conflict grow but to see it de-escalated, and a pathway to diplomacy and dialogue. It is precisely because of the risk of escalation and the consequences that would flow from that we are exercising our voice that way.

By doing that we are joining many other countries around the world doing the same.

Marles says about 2,700 Australians seeking assistance to leave Israel and Iran

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, has said there are 2,700 Australians in the Middle East looking for assisted departure.

Speaking on Afternoon Briefing, he said:

About 1500 Australians in Iran have registered for an assisted departure, about 1,200 in Israel have done the same, so 2,700 Australians in the region are looking for an assisted departure, and obviously we will act if we have an opportunity to do so.

There is an enormous amount of work going on with the ADF specifically. It is not just the ADF though, we’re looking at other civilian options. It is a pragmatic decision based on how you can get clearances to get what kind of plane into what spot.

More Australians to be evacuated from Israel and Iran today

Another group of Australians could be evacuated from Israel today as the deadly exchange of missiles between Israel and Iran enters its fifth day.

The Macnamara MP, Josh Burns, revealed on Instagram the federal government had “plans for another group to leave today if circumstances allow”.

Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Friday, targeting major sites and killing senior military commanders and scientists. Airspaces across both countries remained closed, given the threat posed to commercial flights.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told ABC Breakfast this morning the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had assisted the stranded Australians overnight, describing the ongoing situation as “fluid”.

As of Thursday morning, about 1,500 Australians in Iran had registered with Dfat’s portal for assistance leaving the country while there were 1,200 in Israel.

Burns wrote in his post this afternoon:

Our ongoing priority is to help Australians to get to safety as soon as it is safe to do so … we continue to work on options for departures, including for those not able to take the land journey. The situation in Iran is even more difficult and we are advising people to leave if it is safe to do so.

Australians in need of emergency consular assistance can contact the Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 (if you’re overseas) and 1300 555 135 (in Australia).

Scammers impersonating ACCC phone numbers seek personal information

The Anti-Scam Centre is warning Australians to remain vigilant following reports scammers have been impersonating phone numbers belonging to the ACCC in an attempt to steal personal information.

In some reported cases, the scammers claimed to be representatives of the ACCC and requested sensitive information over the phone. In others, they misused the ACCC acronym to impersonate an unrelated organisation and spoke in a language other than English.

The Anti-Scam Centre warns that the ACCC phone numbers have been “spoofed”. The ACCC does not make calls from its reception numbers.

The ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said:

Spoofing is when scammers disguise their phone number to make it look like they’re calling from a trusted organisation – including government agencies like the ACCC – to deceive people into answering and sharing personal information.

This is a tactic that helps scammers hide their true identity while posing as trusted institutions – it’s designed to lower your guard. If a call or message feels off, trust your instincts and hang up. It’s safer to end the call and check in directly with us.

Liberal party ‘completely dysfunctional’, premier says

At the press conference, Jacinta Allan was asked about the Victorian Liberal party’s administrative committee meeting tonight to consider a loan for the former opposition leader John Pesutto. She said she was not focused on the “utter dysfunction that’s consuming the Victorian Liberal party”.

She went on:

My focus is on what Victorians would rightly expect their members of parliament to be focused on, like the announcement we’ve just made today – supporting renters with their rights and with the dignity of long-term housing security, building more homes, providing real help with cost of living support right now. They are the things I am focused on.

Meanwhile, the Liberal party is completely dysfunctional. And what is also absolutely clear is that under Brad Battin’s Liberal party, you are completely on your own. That’s a pretty loud message that’s sent to the Victorian community. Just ask the member for Hawthorn.”

She was also asked about an incident at Northland last night, during which a man allegedly drove a stolen car through the shopping centre in a bid to evade police. Allan said:

It’s a shocking incident. Just looking at the footage, we can all picture ourselves in that shopping centre, going about our business, going to the shops, chatting to friends, talking to the retail staff.

We can all picture ourselves in that shopping centre, which makes it particularly shocking in terms of what further security measures might need to be deployed, I would like to get the advice from Victoria police first about what’s gone on here.

It comes just weeks after a brawl forced the same shopping centre into lockdown.

Victorian rental dispute resolution service to begin operations next week

Earlier this morning, the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and her consumer affairs minister, Nick Staikos, announced Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) will go live on Monday.

The government first committed to the new service late last year, to help landlords and renters settle disputes over bonds, compensation, repairs and rent increases for free and in a more informal setting.

It will be overseen by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with a team of 40 resolution experts” to oversee each case from start to finish. It will be headed up from King Street in the CBD with other offices in Bendigo, Bundoora, Frankston and Oakeligh. The service will also be accessed online.

Allan said 60% of common rental disputes are expected to be able to be resolved through RDRV, which will free up VCAT to deal with other cases.

She told reporters:

In an Australian first from Monday, Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria will come into existence. It will be a quick, free and fair way for renters to be able to have these very common disputes resolved with their landlords.

This comes about from listening to renters, from listening to organisations like Tenants Victoria, and understanding that we do need to make it easier, quicker, without the costly legal fees that come from needing to go through those more legal processes … It will be a free service that people will be able to access online, through a telephone call, or at a number of hubs that will be located across Melbourne and regional Victoria as well.”

That’s all for me. Cait Kelly will guide you through the rest of the day’s news. Take care.

Battin insists Deeming-Pesutto saga won’t hurt Liberals at 2026 state election

Continued from previous post:

The stoush between Deeming and Pesutto has been going on since March 2023 and cost the latter his position as Victorian opposition leader. But Battin insists it won’t hurt the party at the 2026 state election.

He told reporters:

When I get to that ballot box, we’ll be coming out with our policies. I’ll give every person in Victoria the faith and confidence that we’ll have the policies to deliver to make Victoria a better place to live, that we give them the opportunities they deserve and we keep our community safe.”

Asked if he was worried about a possible byelection in Hawthorn, Battin said he wasn’t.

I’m worried about going to the meeting tonight, getting through the process, and then post that, coming out and talking about what happened … should any person wake up unhappy tomorrow, I would say to them, have a look around and smell the roses, and let’s see what Victoria really needs. And they need an opposition who’s ready to govern, and I will ensure that that is us.

Victorian Liberal leader hopeful party can ‘move forward’ as decision on Pesutto loan looms

The Victorian opposition leader, Brad Battin, says he’s hopeful his party will be able to “move forward” after its administrative committee meets tonight to consider a loan for his predecessor John Pesutto.

The 19-member committee, which includes Battin and federal Liberal MP Dan Tehan, will vote tonight on whether to loan Pesutto about $1.5m to cover the balance of the $2.3m in legal costs he owes fellow Liberal MP Moira Deeming after the federal court found he repeatedly defamed her. This would prevent Pesutto from facing bankruptcy and allow him to retain his marginal seat of Hawthorn.

Battin refused to answer questions about the loan on Thursday, repeating previous comments that his conversations with both Deeming and Pesutto would “remain confidential”. But he said “whatever the result” of the meeting, he was hoping to move on from the saga and focus on things that “are important to Victorians”, adding:

I don’t want to talk about it. Victorians don’t want to talk about it. They want to talk about what’s happening in crime.

Victims [of crime] … don’t give two hoots what’s happening inside the Liberal party. They care [that] someone came into their house with a knife or a gun to steal their car. That’s what they actually care about. That’s what I care about. So after tonight, we hopefully will have a clear path, we’ll start moving forward and have our policies to come out and talk to people about how we’re going to fix the crime crisis here in Victoria.

For Australians stranded in Israel with planes grounded, nights are the most unnerving

Leon Zwier’s daily routine in Jerusalem this week has been night and day. The Melbourne lawyer visited Israel for a conference days before conflict broke out between Israel and Iran last week, with the longstanding adversaries trading airstrikes.

Zwier is due to leave on Friday but with planes grounded across Israel, his chances of returning to Australia as planned appear slim. Almost 2,000 stranded Australians are trying to escape from the conflict zones as airports and local embassies close down amid the fighting.

Their options remain few and far between. Some Australian passport holders have been advised to leave Israel via the land border with Jordan. The 2.5-hour journey by car is risky and marred by intermittent airspace closures in Jordan due to the threat posed to commercial planes.

Read more about their options here:

Firefighting plane that crashed in 2023 had known pressurisation defect before accident, safety bureau says

A firefighting plane that crashed and killed three people in outback Queensland had a “long-term intermittent defect” which affected cabin pressure, and a phone call made minutes before the tragedy was a “missed opportunity” to save their lives, according to an investigation made public today.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released a report on Thursday into the crash of the twin-engine charter plane, according to the AAP. The aircraft was conducting aerial fire surveillance operations for bushfires in Queensland’s north-west on 4 November 2023.

There were radio communication issues with the pilot, indicating he was suffering from a lack of oxygen in the body known as hypoxia, before the plane crashed near Cloncurry, the bureau said. The bureau also found the aircraft had a long-term intermittent defect with the pressurisation system that reduced the maximum attainable cabin pressure.

A pilot and two camera operators, including 22-year-old American William Jennings, were on board the plane, operated by Agair, which specialises in aerial firefighting and agricultural services.

Senior Agair management had tried to rectify the defect, but did not formally record it, communicate it to the safety manager, undertake a formal risk assessment of the issue or provide explicit procedures to pilots for managing it, according to ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell.